BEND, ORE. – In the first-ever officially-sanctioned Singlespeed National Championships, the serious one-gear fans lined up to bring home the inaugural jerseys in the Open men’s and women’s categories. The course had been well-trampled by a full slate of Masters racers all day long before the singlespeeders took the start at 3:30 today.

Adam Craig Does Justice to Cut-Off Jeans
Former Olympian Adam Craig (Rabo-Giant) had by far the biggest gear of all competitors with a 42×16, and he apparently had the power to push it. He wore cut-off jeans and a skateboard-style hardshell helmet, but he wasn’t racing just for kicks. Craig and Aaron Bradford (Specialized-OnSite Ultrasound) quickly built a gap at the sharp end of the race, with JT and Louie Fountain, Jon Cariveau (Moots), Ian Crane (Hagens Berman), Brennan Wodtli and Bo Pitkin not far behind.

Craig and Bradford would remain together for the first couple of laps, before Craig’s power would slowly start to stretch out a gap. By the fourth lap, the separation had grown to 20 seconds and would continue to extend from there. Craig used his singlespeed setup for his B bike at the Rad Racing GP (which, he told CXM then, was ‘Tits’), and he told Cyclocross Magazine that he’s absolutely loved his time on the bike. “I’m gonna wager five bucks that my lap times today will be faster than [in the Elite race] on Sunday,” said Craig.

“I wanted to ride hard and have a gap in case my chain fell off or I got a flat, which totally could’ve happened,” said Craig. “There were rocks hidden at the bottom of some of those puddles.”

Craig stubbornly insisted on attempting to ride a short, punchy run-up, but never quite made it. He also showed mud on his left shoulder from a crash, but he nevertheless turned the fastest laps of the day, including an impressive 7:36 in the second-to-last go-around. He thought that the singlespeed race was ideal preparation for Sunday’s main event, teaching him where he could push hard and which lines were advantageous without risking a crash on his primary bikes.

Bradford hung tough in second before he started to fade late in the race. JT Fountain, conversely, started slow and then gradually ramped up the speed. “This is my first-ever singlespeed race. It just points out the flaws in my pedal stroke. I need to work on my power I think,” said Bradford. “It was just a matter of staying upright and smooth, trying to hit the turns without having to hit your brakes and lose speed.”

“I want to spend more time on [singlespeed] — these are fun,” said Bradford.

Fountain caught Bradford with a couple of laps left and managed to just edge him out by the finish to claim second. Bradford, for his part, will join Craig in the Elite men’s race on Sunday.

“Pretty early on, Craig and Bradford pulled away, and I got stuck in a chase group and couldn’t go with them,” said Fountain. “I got around them and started passing a couple of people. I didn’t think I’d be able to catch second, but slowly reeled him in.”

“There were more long, straight sections than last year, so you could get up to speed and just power it,” said Fountain. “Not to mention the mucky grass and mud – you had to really give it everything you had to get through it.”

Kathy Pruitt Rides Alone
After almost dying in a MTB downhill race this summer and spending days in the hospital strapped to machines with tubes coming in and out of her body, Pruitt’s returned to the top end of the sport. “It’s the most pain I’ve ever been in,” said Pruitt. “It’s made me appreciate every day, I’m just trying to live life.”

Today’s event was her fourth-ever cyclocross event, and she already has a stars and stripes jersey to her name. Pruitt gunned it and got the hole shot. The first time onto the dirt, she heard and saw a rider go over the bars, and Pruitt stomped on the gas again to create a gap.

That over-the-bars rider was Kari Studley (Redline), the early favorite, and the crash sent her bike flying and clearly shook Studley up. By the time she regrouped and got riding again, she was off the back with 15 seconds separating her from the next rider.

Going into the race, Pruitt said she had no idea that she had a chance to win. “I can’t believe I’m the first-ever singlespeed champion.”

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